Bea's Witch

A runaway adoptee encounters the ghost of a witch. She must wrestle her past to discover the witch’s secret and find her way home.

The future can be rewritten.

On the eve of her twelfth birthday, Beatrice Crosse runs away from her adoptive home only to encounter the ghost of England's most famous prophetess. The witch offers her treasure, but can she be trusted?

Bea must wrestle her past to discover the witch’s secret and find her way home.

Daniel lives in Yorkshire in a house built from the stones of a ruined castle. He lives with his wife, son, their bearded dragon and one-eyed cat!

Daniel is the author of The Firebird Chronicles series for children aged 9-12: Rise of the Shadow Stealers (2013), The Nemesis Charm (2016), and Through the Uncrossable Boundary (2018), published by Our Street Books. He is the recipient of the Taner Baybars award for original fiction in the field of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Magical Realism, awarded by the Society of Authors Authors’ Foundation.

Daniel has a Masters in Creative Writing and Drama in Education, graduating with distinction and the Dean’s Prize for Academic Achievement at Masters level (2019) and is currently undertaking a PhD exploring adoption through creative writing. Daniel is also part of the Storymakers Company at Leeds Beckett University, a group of professional artists and educators seeking to develop creative, artistic, child centred learning opportunities for young people through story making in educational and community settings.

Daniel is a First Story writer-in-residence for secondary schools in Yorkshire, he chaired the Leeds Big Bookend from 2013-16 and is on the committee for the Society of Authors, Authors North.

Also a theatre director and playwright, Daniel is Artistic Director of Suitcase and Spectacles Children’s Theatre. Their last production was an adaptation of his first book, supported by Leeds’ Carriageworks Theatre, Harrogate Theatre and The Leeds Big Bookend Festival.

Daniel has written over twenty plays, specialising in journey-based performance and large-scale community productions. These include The Leeds Pageant (2007, for Leeds Minster), Two Lads of Leeds (2008, for Interact Church and Community Partnership), HEAVE (2009, for Pointed Arrow Performance), The Crossing (2010, for Left Bank Leeds and Leeds Light Night), The Tunnel (2011, in partnership with Bradford’s Theatre in the Mill), Drink with a Chimp (2015, for Common Chorus Theatre) and Wind in the Willows (2016, for Renaissance Knaresborough).

Daniel has also overseen a number of community writing projects, including The Leeds Story Cycle (2014) and Stories from the Forests of Leeds (2015/6), both of which resulted in the publication of a book of short stories, published by the Leeds Church Institute and the Leeds Big Bookend Festival.

Daniel enjoys giving workshops and author talks at schools, libraries and festivals and has spoken at Bradford Literature Festival, Ilkley Literature Festival and the Children’s Reading Festival in Selby.

Daniel is interested in exploring philosophical and spiritual questions in fun and engaging ways that inspire children and adults to think and to wonder.

"The room was buzzing all afternoon and Daniel really has the knack of firing children’s imaginations, especially boys. He helped the children to create their own individual stories whilst working in a collaborative way to build a wonderful island in the middle of the library. It was fantastic to see the children growing in confidence during the afternoon and being able to share their thoughts and ideas with their peers in a supportive atmosphere."

Wendy Kent, Services Development Officer at Knaresborough Library